Stumps
87th over - Shaheen to continue with four minutes left in the days play. We should get one maybe two overs in.
After a dot ball to start the over, Williamson uses soft hands and guides it down to third man through gully for four.
The fifth ball of the over sees Shaheen over pitch and Williamson drives him through the covers for thre runs.
The last ball of the day over sees Nicholls flick Shaheen down to fine leg for a single. (NZ 222/3)
86th over - Abbas to continue with just eight minutes until the end of play.
The fourth ball of the over sees a big shout for LBW but it's given not out for hitting outside off stump.
Another maiden over from Pakistan. (NZ 214/3)
85th over - Shaheen to continue with Pkaistan looking for their third maiden on the trot.
The first ball of the over sees a big shout for LBW but there is a big inside edge and Williamson will get through for a single.
Off the fifth ball of the over sees Nicholls squirt one away through the covers for two runs.
The last ball of the over sees Nicholls drive Shaheen away through the covers for three runs. (NZ 214/3)
84th over - Abbas to continue.
More tight bowling from Pakistan and it's another maiden their 25th of the day. (NZ 208/3)
83rd over - Shaheen to continue.
A good over from Shaheen and it's a maiden. (NZ 208/3)
82nd over - Mohammad Abbas to bowl the second over with the new ball.
After four dot balls, Abbas goes to straight and Nicholls flicks him away off his pads for two runs.
The last ball of the over sees Nicholls get a slight edge and it races through gully for two runs. (NZ 208/3)
81st over - Pakistan have chosen to take the new ball and it will be Shaheen Afridi to get first crack at it.
After four dot balls, Williamson gets an outisde edge but Haris Sohail has dropped a tough low chance. (NZ 204/3)
80th over - Masood to bowl the last over until the new ball is available.
After a dot ball to start the over, Nicholls cuts Masood away for a single.
The fourth ball of the over sees Williamson cut Masood away for a single. (NZ 204/3)
79th over - Yasir to continue.
After two dot balls to start the over, Williamson guides Yasir down the ground for a single.
The next ball sees Nicholls flick Yasir down the ground for a single. (NZ 202/3)
78th over - A change in the bowling for Pakistan with part-timer Shan Masood coming into the attack.
A great first over for the part-timer Masood and it's a maiden. (NZ 200/3)
77th over - Yasir to continue.
After three dot balls to start the over Nicholls cuts Yasir away through the covers for two runs.
The next ball sees Williamson dance down the wicket and he guides him down to long-on for a single. (NZ 200/3)
76th over - Faheem to continue with just five overs till the new ball.
After a dot ball to start the over, Faheem goes short and it sits up for Williamson to smash him away through mid-wicket for four.
The next ball sees Williamson flick Faheem into the leg side for two runs.
Williamson is starting to find his flow. Faheem over pitches and Williamson punches him straight back down the ground for four. (NZ 197/3)
75th over - Yasir to continue.
After two dot balls, Williamson uses his feet and pushes Yasir through the covers for a single.
The next ball sees Nicholl drive Yasir down the ground for a single.
The last ball of the over sees Williamson guide Yasirr down to long-on for a single. (NZ 187/3)
74th over - Faheem to continue.
After two dot balls, Williamson tucks Faheem off his pads down to fine leg for a single.
The last ball of the over sees Nicholls cut Faheem away through backward point for four. (NZ 184/3)
73rd over - Yasir to continue with his 13th over.
The first ball of the over sees Williamson work Yasir down the ground for a single. (NZ 179/3)
72nd over - A change in the bowling for Pakistan with Faheem Ashraf into the attack.
A good over from Faheem and it's a maiden. (NZ 178/3)
71st over - Yasir to continue.
The first ball of the over, sees Yasir drop short and Nicholls pulls him away through square leg but he's picked out the fielder on the boundary so it'll only be a single.
The next ball sees Williamson work Yasir down the ground for a single.
Nicholls keeps the scoreboard ticking over with a single down the ground.
Williamson pushes Yasir into the covers for four.
The last ball of the over sees Nicholls turn Yasir into the leg side for a single and that will be drinks. (NZ 178/3)
70th over - Naseem to continue.
The first ball sees Naseem go a touch short and Williamson pulls him through mid-wicket for three runs. The third umpire has called the ball a no ball as well.
The next ball to Nicholls, sees him take a quick single to mid-on. (NZ 173/3)
69th over - Yasir to continue with his 11th over.
After three dot balls, Williamson cuts Yasir away through the covers for a single.
The next ball sees Nicholls sweep aggressively. He gets all of it and it races away for four. (NZ 168/3)
68th over - Naseem to continue.
The first ball sees Nicholls turn Naseem down to fine leg for a single.
The next ball sees Williamson guide Naseem down to third man for a single.
Nicholls pulls Naseem down to square leg for a single.
Williamson keeps the scoraboard ticking over as he flicks Naseem into square leg for three runs. (NZ 163/3)
67th over - Yasir to continue.
After a dot ball, Williamson flicks Yasir down the ground for a single.
After a dot ball, Nicholls pulls Yasir away to square leg for a single. (NZ 157/3)
66th over - Naseem to continue.
After three dot balls, the fourth ball is called a no ball by the third umpire. (NZ 155/3)
65th over - Yasir to continue to Nicholls.
After a dot ball to start the over, Nicholls dances down the wicket and smashes Yasir down the ground. Poor fielding for Pakistan has continued and the ball races away for four.
After a dot ball, Nicholls punches Yasir down the ground for a single. (NZ 154/3)
64th over - Naseem to continue.
After three dot balls, Naseem goes short and Nicholls pulls him away. It flies down to fine leg and the fielder has dropped an easy catch. Nicholls must be the luckiest batsman in New Zealand. He rode his luck in Wellington against the West Indies and now against Pakistan.
Two dot balls to end the over. (NZ 149/3)
63rd over - Yasir to continue.
After four dot balls, Williamson guides Yasir down the ground for a single.
The last ball of the over sees Nicholls turn Yasir into the leg side for a single. (NZ 148/3)
62nd over - Another change in the bowling for Pakistan with Naseem Shah into the attack.
After a dot ball to start the over, Nicholls flicks Naseem through mid-wicket for four. Great shot.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 146/3)
61st over - A change in the bowling with leg-spinner Yasir Shah into the attack
After a dot ball to start the over, Williamson dances down the wicket and smahes Yasir over his head for six. It looks like Williamson won't let the leg-spinner settle.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 142/3)
60th over - Abbas to continue.
After two dot balls, Williamson turns Abbas down to fine leg for a single. (NZ 136/3)
59th over - Shaheen to continue.
The last ball of the over sees Williamson turn Shaheen down to fine leg for a single. (NZ 135/3)
58th over - Abbas to continue.
A great over for Abbas and it's a maiden his eighth for the innings. (NZ 134/3)
57th over - Shaheen to cotninue.
OUT - After four dot balls, Shaheen gets one to angle across Taylor who dabs at the balls and it catches the outisde edge and Rizwan takes the easy catch. Afridi wheels away in celebration. He is pumped.
Taylor c †Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi 70 (151) 10x4 1x6
Henry Nicholls is the next man in and he flicks the final ball of the over through square leg for a single. (NZ 134/3)
56th over - Mohammad Abbas to bowl the second over after tea.
A good tight over from Abbas and it's a maiden. (NZ 133/2)
55th over - Shaheen Afridi to bowl first over after tea.
The first ball of the over sees Williamson clip Shaheen down to fine leg for a single to bring up his 33rd test 50. A classy, hard-working knock from the Blackcaps skipper. Like Taylor this is Williamson's second slowest test 50, so Williamson has worked hard for his 50.
After three dot balls, Taylor drives Shaheen down the ground for four. Great shot from Taylor. Could be his best shot of his innings. (NZ 133/2)
4:02pm - Players are making their way back out for the final session.
Tea - That was New Zealand's session. Pakistan will think they haven't done much wrong, but this has been an excellent exhibition of concentration and determination from Williamson and Taylor.
After a tough first hour after lunch where Pakistan got six maidens in 14 overs, the Blackcaps reeped the rewards of their hard work and got some easy runs towards tea.
Taylor smashed Yasir Shah for 13 runs off the penultimate over before tea. The Blackcaps will be happy where they sit after being in trouble at lunch.
54th over - Abbas to bowl the last over before tea.
After three dot balls, Williamson guides Abbas down to fine leg for a single.
Two dot balls to end the over and the session. (NZ 128/2)
53rd over - Yasir to continue.
The first ball sees Williamson work Yasir away off the back foot through the covers for a single.
What a shot. Yasir goes full and Taylor slog sweeps him through mid-wicket for six. The crowd loved that shot, a bit of excitement towards the end of the second session.
Taylor has put the foot down. Full again from Yasir and Taylor sweeps him again through mid-wicket for four.
Taylor keeps the runs coming with a late cut through backward point for two runs. (NZ 127/2)
52nd over - Abbas to continue with just eight minutes till tea.
After two dot balls, Taylor works Abbas down to fine leg for two runs to bring up the 100 run partnership between Taylor and Williamson. The 10th time they have done this as a pair.
Three dot balls to end the over. (NZ 114/2)
51st over - Yasir to continue.
After two dot balls to start the over, Williamson takes a quick single to mid-on.
The next ball sees Taylor sweep Yasir down to the fine leg boundary for four to bring up his 34th test 50. This was his second slowest 50 in his carer, which shows how hard he has worked for it.
The next ball sees Taylor push Yasir down the ground for a single. (NZ 112/2)
50th over - Abbas to continue with 16 minutes till the tea break.
After a dot ball, Taylor cuts Abbas away through backward point for four runs. (NZ 106/2)
49th over - A change of bowling for Pakistan with leg-spinner Yasir Shah into the attack.
The first ball sees a leg bye for the Blackcaps.
The next ball sees Williamson pushes Yasir down the ground for a single.
After a dot ball Taylor works Yasir down the ground for a single. (NZ 102/2)
48th over - A change in the bowling with Mohammad Abbas is back into the attack with figures of 0/10 from 11 overs with seven maidens.
The first ball sees Taylor turn Abbas into the leg side for single.
After a dot ball, Williamson pushes Abbas away through teh covers for two runs. (NZ 99/2)
47th over - Shaheen to continue for Pakistan.
After a dot ball to start the over, Shaheen slightly over pitches and Taylor drives him through the covers for four.
After two dot balls, Taylor turns Shaheen into the leg side for a single. (NZ 96/2)
46th over - Naseem to continue.
After two dot balls, Williamson uses soft hands and guides it through the slips and it races away for four.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 91/2)
45th over - A change in the bowling for Pakistan with Shaheen Afridi back into the attack. He has both of Pakistan's wickets today.
After a dot ball to start the over, Shaheen drops short and Williamson pulls him away through square leg for four.
The last ball of the over sees Williamson pushes Shaheen into the covers for a single. (NZ 87/2)
44th over - Naseem to continue with his ninth over.
After five dot balls, Williamson drops the ball at his feet and Taylor scampers through for a quick single. (NZ 82/2)
43rd over - Faheem to continue.
Another maiden for Pakistan. (NZ 81/2)
42nd over - Naseem to continue.
After a dot ball to start the over, Naseem goes short and Taylor pulls him away through midwicket and the square leg fielder comes around to save the boundary and keep it to three runs.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 81/2)
41st over - Faheem to continue. Pakistan have bowled 17 maidens so far today. It's been an impressive session and a half of bowling from the visitors.
The first ball after drinks sees Williamson flick Faheem through mid-on for a single.
After three dot balls, Faheem over pitches and gives Taylor some width and Taylor drives him through the covers for three runs. (NZ 78/2)
40th over - Naseem to continue.
It's another maiden over for Pakistan to end the first hour of play after lunch. It's been a tough hour for the Blackcaps with six maidens out of the 14 overs bowled. (NZ 74/2)
39th over - Faheem to continue.
After five dot balls, Faheem over pitches and Williamson drives him down the ground for two runs to get the first runs off the bat in 34 balls. (NZ 74/2)
38th over - A change in the bowling for Pakistan with Naseem Shah into the attack.
After two dot balls, there is a big shout for caught behind but it's given not out. As Pakistan are deciding wether to review or not it has been called a no-ball by the third umpire.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 72/2)
37th over - Faheem to continue.
Faheem continues the Pakistan pressure and it's another maiden their third in a row. (NZ 71/2)
36th over - Abbas to continue with his 11th over.
A good tight over from Abbas and it's a miaden the second in a two for Pakistan who are applying a lot of pressure after lunch. (NZ 71/2)
35th over - A change in the bowling for Pakistan with Faheem Ashraf into the attack.
A good first over back from Faheem and it's a maiden his second for the day from his six overs. (NZ 71/2)
34th over - Abbas to continue.
After a dot ball to start the over, Williamson turns Abbas into the leg side for a single.
Four dot balls to end the over. (NZ 71/2)
33rd over - Shaheen to continue.
A good tight over from Shaheen and it's a maiden. (NZ 70/2)
32nd over - Abbas to continue.
After two dot balls, Taylor gets an outisde edge and it flies through the slips and it races away down to third man for four.
The last ball of the over sees Taylor turn Abbas into the leg side for a single. (NZ 70/2)
31st over - Shaheen to continue.
After three dot balls, Shaheen over pitches and on the pads of Williamson and he flicks him through mid-wicket for four to bring up the 50 run partnership between Williamson and Taylor. (NZ 65/2)
30th over - Abbas to continue.
A good tight over from Abbas and it's another maiden. (NZ 61/2)
29th over - Shaheen to continue.
After five dot balls, Williamson gets a leading edge and it flies through gully for twor runs. (NZ 61/2)
28th over - Mohammad Abbas to bowl the second over after lunch.
A good over from Abbas and it's a maiden. (NZ 59/2)
27th over - Shaheen Afridi to bowl the first over after lunch to Williamson.
After five dot balls, Shaheen over pitches with width and Williamson drives him through the covers for four. (NZ 59/2)
1:40pm - Players are making their way back out onto the field for the afternoon session.
LUNCH - Challenging first session for the Blackcaps who were made to toil hard against a disciplined Pakistan attack. The tourists will be really pleased with that effort, having capitalised on a critical win at the toss.
Check out some of the highlights in the video above, then join us back here at 1:40pm for the second session.
25th over - Yasir has been miserly with his spin, just one run conceded through his three overs. Taylor using his feet but he can't pierce the infield.
24th over - Dropped! Tough chance, one-handed and low at second slip but you have to pounce on those opportunities against a player like Williamson.
23rd over - Yasir stoutly defended by Taylor. NZ climbing back into this contest after their early setbacks.
21st over - Yasir takes the ball for the day's first over of spin. One from it to bring up the NZ 50.
20th over - Quick single taken, shy at the stumps is wide from Abbas. Williamson was gone if that had hit.
17th over - Williamson finding his groove now, drives for two then three from consecutive deliveries off Naseem. Taylor off the pads for a triple.
16th over - Another textbook cut from Taylor to the fence, this time off Faheem. Looking in good nick early.
15th over - Here comes 17-year-old Naseem Shah for his first over of the day. Starts with a no-ball, then Taylor cuts him for four. Responds with a gem to beat Taylor's bat.
14th over - Faheem concedes a run off the final ball off his first over.
12th over - Abbas puts one on the money, gorgeous delivery that deviates off the seam and beats Williamson all ends up.
11th over - WICKET - Shaheen's consistency pays off, catching a thick edge from Blundell to second slip for his second wicket.
TA Blundell c Yasir Shah b Shaheen Shah Afridi 5 (29b 0x4 0x6)
Huge ovation for Taylor as he makes his way to the middle to overtake Daniel Vettori for the most appareances for any NZ player. And he's immediately off the mark, glancing off his pads for the first boundary of the day.
10th over - Williamson caught in the middle, edge off Abbas falls just in front of second slip.
9th over - Big noise as the ball deflects down leg to the keeper off Williamson. Not out is the decision, but Pakistan elect to review. And it's clearly off the thigh pad. NZ breathes a collective sigh of relief.
7th over - Shaheen and Williamson duelling here. Just misses the outside edge with the final ball.
6th over - Half a shout, Blundell a tiny edge on to his pads there. Testing stuff here from Abbas.
4th over - Abbas swinging the ball late, looking dangerous. Blundell opens his account, thick edge on the forward defence for two.The next one almost grazes the outside edge to the keeper.
3rd over - Williamson in no rush here, getting a feel for the uneven bounce of this pitch. Off the mark with a cover drive for two.
2nd over - Abbas getting plenty of movement early. Maiden over.
1st over - Latham edgy on a gem of a first ball from Afridi, through the slips for four. WICKET - And even edgier on the second ball! Great length and the extra bounce gets Latham, straightforward catch to third slip is slightly bobbled by Ali but eventually pocketed. What a start for the tourists.
TWM Latham c Azhar Ali b Shaheen Shah Afridi 4 (3b 1x4 0x6)
10:56am - Bay Oval looking picture perfect in the Boxing Day sun, but there's a fairly stiff breeze apparent as the teams get through the anthems.
10:41am - Mitchell Santner gets the nod for the Blackcaps XI ahead of Daryl Mitchell.
Pakistan: 1 Shan Masood, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Fawad Alam, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (capt and wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Mohammad Abbas, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Naseem Shah
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Tom Blundell, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult
10:35am - Pakistan have won yet another toss and the Blackcaps will bat first at Bay Oval. The first ball is due at 11am.
***
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the opening match of the test series between the Blackaps and Pakistan in Tauranga.
We'll have coverage from the first delivery at Bay Oval, which is scheduled for 11am.
TAB betting odds:
New Zealand - $1.28 Pakistan - $6.30
Pre-match banter:
Blackcaps' last chance to push for world test championship final
New Zealand's late push for a place in next year's International Cricket Council's World Test Championship final will come to a head against an injury-hit Pakistan when their two-test series begins on Saturday in Mount Maunganui.
Kane Williamson's side are third behind Australia and India and need to win both the first game at Bay Oval and then the second from January 3 to 7 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch to give themselves any chance of making the final at Lord's.
Williamson, however, was well aware they would also need other results go their way, which may account for him attempting to downplay the underlying significance of the series.
"I think the context of that (the test championship) is great for the game in general," he told reporters this week. "But our focus ... is to basically start again.
"It's about coming back to the basics and playing what is in front of us rather than getting too carried away with potential things."
New Zealand's chances of sweeping the series have been boosted by the return of top batsman Williamson, who missed the innings and 12-run victory over West Indies in Wellington as he awaited the birth of his first child.
Tim Southee has added motivation for the first match, with the pace bowling spearhead just four wickets away from joining Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori as the third New Zealand bowler to achieve 300 test wickets.
Pakistan, however, will be without injured captain Babar Azam, opener Imam-Ul-Haq and allrounder Shadab Khan and stand-in captain Mohammad Rizwan said while they would miss the trio he expected others to take their opportunities.
"We trust them," he said. "And hope they will play well."
Rizwan was also not concerned with the heavily grassed wicket block, which could prove advantageous for the home side's strong pace bowling quartet.
